(Adds importance of site where explosion was reported and context of recent Iran-Israel tensions)
WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) – Israeli missiles hit a site in Iran, ABC News reported late Thursday, citing a U.S. official, days after Iran launched a drone strike on Israel in response to an attack against the Iranian embassy in Syria.
Iran’s Fars news agency said an explosion was heard at an airport in the Iranian city of Isafahan, but the cause was not immediately known. Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in the province of Isfahan, including Natanz, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.
Several flights were diverted over Iranian airspace, CNN reported.
Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria.
Most of the drones and missiles were shot down before reaching Israeli territory.
Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be forced to stop any further military adventurism against our interests”, as the UN secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril”.
Israel had said it would retaliate for the April 13 Iranian missile and drone attack.
Analysts and observers are concerned about the risks associated with
Israel-Gaza War
extending to the rest of the region.
The Israeli assault on Gaza began after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli counts. The Israeli military offensive has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry.
Iranian-backed groups have declared their support for the Palestinians, launching attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward)
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